December 2, 2003	Tuesday	Shawwal 7, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 1: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said that Pakistan is ready to hold talks with India on the sidelines of the forthcoming Saarc summit in Islamabad.

As far as Pakistan’s stance is concerned, it has already said that it is ready to hold dialogue with India anywhere, anytime and at any place, the minister told the BBC on Monday.

“We are interested in establishment of peace in the subcontinent and it is only possible when there is mutual understanding between the two countries,” he said.

However, it depended upon Indian leadership whether talks on the sidelines of the Saarc summit would be held or not, the minister said, adding that it takes two hands to clap.

Replying to a question, he said Saarc was a multilateral forum and it was a trend all over the world that countries held bilateral talks on the sidelines of any forum like UN meetings, Asean and the EU.

Answering another question, the minister said India and Pakistan had been holding talks since long. In 1997, both the countries held talks at the secretary level. Later, President Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee held talks in Agra. The two countries were about to sign an agreement and even India had given time for a signing ceremony.

“I think that now the talks should be started from the point where secretaries of the two countries and from where President Musharraf and Atal Bihari Vajpayee left the talks”, he emphasized, adding that If India was sincerely interested in peace in the region, Pakistan was more than willing.—APP